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Trivia: Musical Terms

Subject : trivia
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. To repeat a previous part of a composition generally after other music has been played.






2. Group of singers in a chorus.






3. A group of 4 instruments - two violins - a viola - and cello.






4. Refers to the tuning of an instrument.






5. Tone color - quality of sound that distinguishes one verse or instrument to another. It is determined by the harmonies of sound.






6. Movement in music where the characteristics are crisp and direct.






7. One who directs a group of performers. The conductor indicates the tempo - phrasing - dynamics - and style by gestures and facial expressions.






8. A piece of music written for two vocalists or instrumentalists.






9. The seventh note of the scale where there is a strong desire to resolve on the tonic.






10. A repeated phrase.






11. A musical composition written solely to improve technique. Often performed for artistic interest.






12. Indicating speed.






13. A style of male singing where by partial use of the vocal chords - the voice is able to reach the pitch of a female.






14. Piece of instrumental music played between scenes in a play or opera.






15. Word to indicate that the movement or entire composition is to be played smoothly.






16. Two notes that differ in name only. The notes occupy the same position.For example: C sharp and D flat.






17. A musical scale having five notes.For example: the five black keys of a keyboard make up a pentatonic scale.






18. A musical form where the melody or tune is imitated by individual parts at regular intervals. The individual parts may enter at different measures and pitches. The tune may also be played at different speeds - backwards - or inverted.






19. Music written for a lively French dance for two performers written in triple time.






20. Singing or chanting in unison without strict rhythm. Collected during the Reign of Pope Gregory VIII for psalms and other other parts of the church service.






21. Harsh - discordant - and lack of harmony. Also a chord that sounds incomplete until it resolves itself on a harmonious chord.






22. Originally an improvised cadence by a soloist. Later it became a written out passage to display performance skills of an instrumentalist or performer.






23. A symbol indicating to play loud.






24. Rapid alternation between notes that are a half tone or whole tone apart.






25. The principal note of a triad.






26. Either of the two octave arrangements in modern music. The modes are either major or minor.






27. A repeating phrase that is played at the end of each verse in the song.






28. A repeating phrase that is played at the end of each verse in the song.






29. A musical composition written solely to improve technique. Often performed for artistic interest.






30. A symbol indicating that the note is to be diminished by one semitone.






31. 3 or 4 notes played simultaneously in harmony.






32. Music written to be sung or played in unison.






33. The element of music pertaining to time - played as a grouping of notes into accented and unaccented beats.






34. A 17th century dance written in Quadruple time - always beginning on the third beat of the measure.






35. A composition written for three to six voices. Beginning with the exposition - each voice enters at different times - creating counterpoint with one another.






36. The interval between two notes. Three whole tones and one semitone make up the distance between the two notes.






37. A rhythmic succession of musical tones - a melody for instruments and voices.






38. The first tone of a scale also known as a keynote.






39. In sheet music - an instruction to repeat the beginning of the piece before stopping on the final chord.






40. A period in history dating from the 14th to 16th centuries. This period signified the rebirth of music - art - and literature.






41. Singing or chanting in unison without strict rhythm. Collected during the Reign of Pope Gregory VIII for psalms and other other parts of the church service.






42. Elaborate polyphonic composition of the Boroque and Renaissance periods.






43. Pertaining to the sonata form - a fast movement in triple time.






44. The seventh note of the scale where there is a strong desire to resolve on the tonic.






45. A combination of two or more staves on which all the notes are vertically aligned and performed simultaneously in differing registers and instruments.






46. Three note chords consisting of a root - third - and fifth.






47. Primary theme or subject that is developed.






48. Combination of two or more keys being played at the same time.






49. A style of singing which is characterized by the easy and flowing tone of the composition.






50. A composition written for nine instruments.







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